As activity and income from the Eagle Ford Shale continues to grow, affected communities are studying how to manage finite resources into the future.

Local and state leaders are planning for issues that could not be fully addressed during the boom that hit the area six years ago.

South Texas counties successfully weathered transformational changes with the Eagle Ford. It’s no secret that incomes have skyrocketed.

State and local leaders at this year’s Eagle Ford Consortium Conference this week predicted more stunning growth for the future, and that growth now needs support for its natural resources.

State Sen. Juan Hinojosa, whose district covers the Eagle Ford southward to the coast, said fracking uses a lot of water:

"We have plenty of water in the state, just not in the right places," Hinojosa said.

He said the state is stepping in to help communities manage their water supply, upgrade water plants and infrastructure, and create conservation programs.

"So we at the state level have invested approximately $8 billion," Hinojosa said. "By that I mean we have $6 billion in evergreen bonds. At the same time we have $2 billion more that came in this last November from the Rainy Day Fund. So that's a total of $8 billion for grants, for loans to help build our water capacity."

Hiniojosa said cities and other entities can access the funds through the Water Development Board and use them to create sustainability over the long-term:

Hinojosa said desalination plants have begun construction in Corpus Christi and other locations along the coast, along with those that will refine brackish water.

Also speaking at the conference was state Sen. Carlos Uresti, who said the state will be helping Eagle Ford communities in other areas of infrastructure, including housing shortages and county roads. He said the legislature appropriated $225 million in the last session for county roads, and admits that’s not enough, but said it’s a beginning.

South Texas is in the midst of a massive oil boom. In just a few years, it has totally transformed once-sleepy communities along a crescent swoosh known as the Eagle Ford Shale formation and has brought unexpected prosperity — along with a host of new concerns.

Among the towns drastically changed by the drilling is Cotulla, southwest of San Antonio, about 70 miles up from the border with Mexico. The area is called brush country — flat, dry ranch land, scrubby with mesquite and parched by drought.

According to oil field service company Baker-Hughes, almost half of all the oil rigs in the United States, and almost 25 percent of rigs worldwide, are in the Eagle Ford Shale region, working on "tight" oil deposits. The exploration explosion has been a boon for local economies, and also reaches statewide in its scope. Unemployment in these areas has dropped to as low as 4 percent in some counties.

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